TikTok owner ByteDance Ltd.‘s founder Zhang Yiming has emerged as the wealthiest individual in China, marking his first ascent to this position. On Wednesday, Zhang claimed the top spot by overtaking Zhong Shanshan, known for his bottled water enterprise, and Tencent Holdings’ co-founder Ma Huateng, with his wealth valued at $57.5 billion, according to a Bloomberg report.
This achievement is particularly noteworthy for the 41-year-old, considering the recent challenges, including potential US restrictions on TikTok, ByteDance’s popular application, and a temporary withdrawal of music content from the platform by the world’s largest record label.
Following a decline in Nongfu Spring Co.’s earnings that affected Zhong’s wealth, Zhang secured the premier position. In the Asian wealth hierarchy, he now stands third, following Indian industrialists Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, as per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
China’s Richest Reshuffle
Zhang’s net worth increased by over $10 billion after Bloomberg’s analysis of valuations from institutional investors BlackRock Inc., Fidelity Investments and T. Rowe Price Group Inc., alongside ByteDance’s intention to repurchase employee shares at a $312 billion valuation. The four valuations averaged $365 billion.
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The status of TikTok’s operations in the United States remains uncertain. US President Donald Trump extended the deadline by 75 days – until April 5 – for ByteDance to secure a purchaser for its US operations or risk prohibition.
According to Bloomberg News, Oracle Corp. is considering a proposal to acquire TikTok’s US operations that would involve providing security guarantees and acquiring a minor stake in a new US entity, whilst potentially allowing the application’s crucial algorithm to remain under Chinese control.
On Wednesday, Trump indicated his willingness to consider reducing tariffs on China to obtain Beijing’s backing for the sale of TikTok’s US operations to an American organisation. He expressed confidence in securing at least a preliminary agreement for TikTok by the following week but stated that if a deal remained incomplete, he would pursue a deadline extension.
ByteDance maintains a prominent position in China’s artificial intelligence sector. Its AI chatbot Doubao serves 75 million regular active users, whilst the organisation reports that its earlier vision understanding model operates at costs 85% below the industry standard, similar to DeepSeek.
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About Zhang Yiming
Zhang stands apart from traditional Chinese billionaires due to his innovative and globally-focused enterprise, according to Hao Gao, who serves as director at Tsinghua University’s Research Centre for Global Family Business.
Currently residing in Singapore, Zhang, a Chinese citizen, accumulated his fortune solely through his 21% ownership in ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, which boasts over 1 billion users worldwide.
His professional journey began at Kuxun.com, a tourism search website, where he worked as an engineer. He ventured into entrepreneurship in 2009 by establishing 99fang.com, a property search platform, which he departed from after three years.
In 2012, he established ByteDance from a modest flat in Beijing, introducing the Toutiao news application, which garnered over 13 million daily users within two years. His vision was to develop an AI-driven platform distinct from Baidu, China’s dominant search engine.
“The most important thing is that we are not a news business,” Zhang said in a 2017 interview. “We are more like a search business or a social media platform. We are doing very innovative work. We are not a copycat of a US company, both in product and technology.”
ByteDance introduced TikTok (known as Douyin in China) in 2016, initially attracting a modest following. The application quickly gained popularity amongst younger generations and achieved global success in subsequent years. The company acquired Musical.ly, a Chinese social media platform, for approximately $800 million in 2018, subsequently incorporating it into TikTok. The organisation has since developed into a diverse conglomerate, offering various applications ranging from video content to entertainment platforms featuring humour and celebrity news.
Zhang relinquished his position as chief executive in 2021, followed shortly by his resignation as chairman. Similarly, other prominent billionaires, including Jack Ma of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Colin Huang of PDD Holdings Inc., have also withdrawn from active management roles in their respective organisations.
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